Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1030

 1010 SI PH. and the Jebusite city afterwards; Joseplius repre- sents him as takini; the lower city first, and after- wards the citadel. There can be no donbt, therefore, tliat in Juseplins's view, Siun was the lower city, and the Jebusite city the citadel;" for a comparison of the 7th with the 9th verse in 2 Sam. v., and of tlio fltli with the 7th verse in 1 Chron. xi. can leave no doubt that the intermediate verses in botli pas- sages relate to the particulars of occupation of Sion, which particulars are narrated by Josephus of the occupation of the upper city, here called by him by tile identical name used by the sacred writer, of the " castle in which David dwelt; therefore they called it the city of David; " and A^povpiov of Josephus is admitted by Mr. Tlirupp to be the upper city (p. 5G, note 2). That the name Sion was subsequently used in a much wider acceptation, and applied par- ticularly to the sanctuary, is certain; and the fact is e.asily explained. The tent or tabernacle erected by David for the reception of the ark was certainly on Mount Sion, and in the city of David (2 Sam. vi. 12; 1 Chron. xv. 1, 29), and therefore in all the lan^uasje of his own divine compositions, and of the other Psalmists of the conclusion of his and the commencement of Solomon's reign, Sion was properly identified with the sanctuary. What could be more natural than that, when the ark was transferred to the newly-consecrated temple on the contiguous hill, whieli was actually united to its former resting- place by an artificial embankment, the signification of the name should be extended so as to comprehend the Temple Mount, and continue the propriety and applicability of the received phraseology of David's and Asaph's Psalms to the new and permanent abode of the most sacred emblem of the Hebrew worship? But to attempt to found a topographical argument on the figurative and frequently elliptical expressions of Psalms or prophecies is surely to build on a foundation of sand. It was no doubt in order not to perplex the topography of Jerusalem by the use of ecclesiastical and devotional terminology that Josephus has wholly abstained from the use of the name Sion. [G. W.] SIPH or ZIPH (LXX. Alex. Zi>, Vat. 'OQe-. Eth. Zi(pa7os), a city of the tribe of Judah, men- tioned in connection with Maon, Carmel, and Juttah (.fosh. XV. 55). The wilderness of Ziph was a favourite hiding-place of David when concealing himself from the malice of Saul. (1 Sam. xxiii. 14, 26, xxvi. 1; Psalm liv. title.) This wilderness of Ziph was contiguous to the wilderness of Maon (1 Sam. xsiii. 25); and this Maon is connected with (Jarniel in the history of Nabal and Abigail (xsv. 2). The three names are still found a few miles south of Hebron, as Kirmel, Main, Ziph. The ruins lie on a low ridge between two small wadys, which com- mence here and run towards the Dead Sea. " There is here little to be .seen except broken walls and foundations, most of them of unhewn stone, but in- dicating solidity, and covering a considerable tract of ground. Numerous cisterns also remain." (Robinson, Bibl. Res. vol. ii. p. 191). Ziph is placed by St. Je- rome 8 miles E. of Hebron (S. would be more correct), and the desert of Ziph is frequently mentioned in the annals of the recluses of Palestine, while the site of the town was identified by travellers at least three centuries ago. (Fiirer, Itinerarium,^. 68.) [G.W.] SIPHAE or TIPHA (Xi(pat, Thuc. iv. 76; Scy- lax, p. 15; Steph. B. s.v.; Ptol. iii. 15. § 5; Plin. iv. 3. s. 4; Ti(po, Pans. ix. 32. § 4: Eth. Tirpaios, Ti<patevs), a town of Bocotia, upon the Corinthian SIPHNOS. gulf, which was said to have derived its name from Tiphys, the pilot of the Argonauts. In the time of Pausanias the inhabitants of Siphao pointed out the spot where the ship Argo anchored on its return from its celebrated voyage. The .«ame writer men- tions a temple of Hercules at Sipliae, in whose honour an annual festival was celebrated. (Pans. I.e.) Tliucydides (?. c), Apollonius libodins (i. 105), and Stephanns B. (s. v. 2i<^ai) describe Sipliae as a dependency of Thespiae; and it is accordingly placed by iIiiller and Kiepert at Alikes. But Leake draws attention to the fact that Pausanias describes it as lying W. of Thisbe ; and he therefore places it at port Sardmli, near the monastery dedicatevios : Siphno Gr., Siphanto Ital.), an island in the Aegaean .sea, one of the Cyclades, lying SE. of Seriplios, and NE. of Jlelos. Pliny (iv. 12. s. 22. § 66) describes it as 28 miles in circuit, but it is considerably larger. The same writer says that the island was originally called Merope and Acis; its ancient name of Merope is also mentioned by Ste- plianus B. (s. v.). Siphnos was colonised by lonians from Athens (Herod, viii. 48), whence it was said to have derived its name from Siphnos, the son of Sunius. (Steph. B. s. v.) In consequence of their gold and silver " mines, of which remains are .still seen, the Siphnians attained great prosperity, and were regarded, in the time of Polycrates (b.c. 520), as the wealthiest of all the islanders. Their trea- sury at Delphi, in which they deposited the tenth of the produce of their mines (Paus. x. 11. § 2), was equal in wealth to the treasuries of the most opulent states ; and their public buildings were decorated with Parian marble. Their riches, however, exposed them to pillage; and a party of Samian exiles, in the time of Polycrates, invaded the island, and levied a contribution of 100 talents. (Herod, iii. 57, 58.) The Siphnians were among the few islanders in the Aegaean who refused tribute to Xerxes, and they fought with a single ship on the side of the Greeks at Salamis. (Herod, viii. 46, 48.) Under the Athenian supremacy the Siphnians paid an annual tribute of 3600 drachmae. (Franz. Elem. Epiijr. Gr. n. 52.) Their mines were afterwards less pro- ductive; and Pausanias (/. c.) relates that in con. sequence of the Siphnians neglecting to send the tenth of their treasure to Delphi, the gods destroycil their mines by an inundation of the sea. In the time of Str.abo the Siplmians had become so poor that 'Z'Kpviov aarpayakov became a proverbial ex- pression. (Strab. X. p. 448; comp. Eustath. inl Dionys. Per. 525; Hesych. s.v. 'Xifvios appaSiii'.) The moral character of the Siphnians stood low ; and hence to act like a Siphnian (Si^fia^'eu') was used as a term of reproach. (Steph. B. ; Suid.; Hesych.) The Siphnians were celebrated in an- tiquity, as they are in the present day, for their skill in pottery. Pliny (xxxvi. 22. § 159, Sillig) mentions a particular kind of stone, of which drink- ing cups were made. This, according to Fiedler, was a species of talc, and is probably intended by